I'm sorry this chapter got up so late, but I kind of lost my hunger for writing for a couple of days after writing a 10 page exam in 3 hours.
I'm pretty sure it went well, though, but I'm going to try and concentrate on this right now. I hope I can come up with something good for this chapter ~

Ryuuji leaned his back against the wall in his living room, putting a hand to his forehead.
"I really wasn't expecting something like that," he said to himself with a tired sigh. He clenched his hand harder around the note in his hand.
"He seems so childish."

"He really said that?" Ryuuji had asked as he looked at his mom with a confused expression on his face. She nodded with a little smile.
"I see.. I hadn't expected that. I even took off running."

"I understand why, Ryuu-chan," Yasuko said with her regular, high pitched, almost drunk sounding voice, "and I hope you understood my reason for allowing him to say those things."

Ryuuji gulped, feeling something tightening in his chest.
"Yeah, I could see it on your face. You're pretty easy to read, you know," he said, trying to seem as calm as possible.

"I am?" Yasuko asked, puckering her lips a tiny bit, seeming confused.

"Yeah," Ryuuji said with a gentle smile, "you're my mother after all. You've raised me well."

Yasuko's eyes suddenly looked sad, as if she was about to cry, and she made a pouting voice.
"Ryuu-chan!" She said, on the verge of crying.

Ryuuji furrowed his brows and looked flustered.
"Y-you idiot, don't cry!" He said, trying to calm his mother down, but it was too late.
"Oh, geez," he said, rubbing his temples, "you're too sensitive."

Ryuuji unfolded the note that his mom had handed him once more, reading the contents of it.
'Ryuuji-kun! I could sense the love between you and that tiny girl, and I felt so sorry for acting like that towards you! What kind of father would rob a kid of his springtime? Stay focused in school, kid, and don't disappoint your mother, or I'll be back for you! (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ ┻━┻ '

"Geez, he was actually like that, huh," Ryuuji sighed, a little relieved, "he was even childish enough to put in an emoticon."
Ryuuji closed his eyes, feeling utterly tired from the things that had happened. He felt a sudden heaviness over his body, and he started to doze off into a state of being half asleep. He straightened his legs out and leaned in properly towards the wall, not caring about his current sleeping place.

After dozing off for about 15 minutes, Ryuuji felt a tickling sensation at his neck. The feeling then changed, and it was as if someone was trying to bite him.
He opened his eyes a little and saw the tiny figure sitting on top of his lap, legs scuffled out. He saw the top of the girl's head, as she was leaning into his neck.

Ryuuji smiled a little from the sight of the golden brown hair, but he suddenly realized what was going on, and he opened his eyes completely.
"W-what are you doing all of a sudden?" he asked with a blush, gritting his teeth a little. The girl looked up at him with a frown.

"You were impossible to wake up, so I figured I should try to bite you and see if that worked!" Taiga said, staring into his eyes with an annoyed expression.

"Couldn't you just have poked me or something?" Ryuuji sighed, rubbing his eyes. Taiga shook her head.

"I tried everything, but it was impossible!"

"Even so, don't you think biting me was a little," Ryuuji hesitated for a moment before speaking up, "Wasn't it a little vulgar? I mean, it's embarrassing."

"Eh," Taiga looked at him with a slightly confused expression, "why would it be embarrassing?" she asked.

"Geez," Ryuuji said, "you really know nothing about boys, do you?" he asked, sighing, "I thought girls were sensitive by the neck too."

Taiga suddenly blushed a little.
"Well, I guess we are, but.."

"But?"

"But you were asleep, and it was as if you were inviting to me to tease you, so I felt obliged to bite you, okay? Your expression was so amusing, too!" Taiga uttered. Ryuuji frowned.

"Silly," he said, looking away. Taiga snickered a little.

"Maybe just a little." She smiled.

Ryuuji shook his head slightly and looked back at her.
"Anyways," he said, holding the note up, "look."
Taiga hummed, sounding curious as she unfolded the note. She read through it, and she furrowed her brows a little.

"What is this?" She asked with a completely serious tone.
Ryuuji shrugged and scratched his head.

"My fath- that man left it when he left."

Taiga puckered her lips a little before breaking out into a loud laughter.
"What the heck? Your father is like, really childish!" She stated, laughing more and more.

"I get it, I get it!" Ryuuji said with a flustered expression as he took the note away from her.

"Really, that's just too hilarious," Taiga said before calming down, making a calm expression, "I'm glad he left, anyways. I get to keep you." She said with a smile.

Ryuuji smiled back as Taiga leaned her face closer towards him, and he did the same. In the last moment before their lips touched, Taiga smirked and changed direction, shooting her lips towards Ryuuji's neck.

"Tai- ARGH!" Ryuuji stuttered with a blush on his face, gritting his teeth.
"Stop biting me, you idiot!"

…

Ryuuji put a wet towel around his neck, rubbing it slightly. He walked back into the living room and looked at Taiga who sat on the floor.
"Why did you have to do that?" he asked with an annoyed voice.

"I got carried away," Taiga mumbled, looking down. Ryuuji sighed and rubbed his temples before speaking up loudly.

"You drew blood!"

"Sorry!"

"Argh!

Ryuuji sat down on the other side of the table, looking at the wall.
Taiga looked down, and they both felt an awkward air around them.
"You're going to do it again, aren't you?" Ryuuji asked with straight forward voice.

"Definitely," Taiga answered with a slick smirk.

Ryuuji sighed and removed the towel from his neck, slowly dragging a finger over the area that was now slightly damp from the wet towel, feeling the slight bumps on his neck. Taiga had literally bit him so much that he had started bleeding after a while, although it was just a little.

'It's not like I didn't like it..' Ryuuji thought, but quickly shrugged the thought out of his head. Taiga gave him a questioning look, but he ignored it.
"This thing had better heal before Monday," Ryuuji mumbled, looking up at the roof.

Taiga straightened her back a little, still looking at the floor, and she clutched her fingers tightly by her lap.
"Hey, Ryuuji," she said, trying to hide a blush, "would you go as far as calling us a couple?"

Ryuuji gave her a questioning glare before scratching his hair.
"I-I would think so," he said, sounding a little nervous.
Taiga blushed even more and had problems talking.

"T-then, wouldn't it be natural for us to go on d-d-dates more often?" she asked, seeming nervous, "I mean, we never actually arrange anything, we just end up doing stuff together."

Ryuuji furrowed his brows a little, looking up.
"Well, maybe it's because we live so close, so it seems kind of natural to do just let things flow." He stated.

Taiga looked up and put a finger on her chin.
"Huh, you're right," she exclaimed, "it does seem pretty natural."
Taiga suddenly stood up and pointed a finger at Ryuuji.
"Anyways, take me on a date! I want to know how it feels!"

Ryuuji waved his hand a little, sighing.
"Yeah, yeah, I'll take you on a date."
Taiga grinned, and she liked the thought of her advancing in her relationship with Ryuuji. She felt that they had stood kind of still in their relationship for the past weeks, but she also knew that as soon as they got close, they got close.

So all in all, it would take a lot to bring them even closer now, Taiga realized, but she liked the thought of it nonetheless.

"What should we do, though?" Ryuuji asked, basically having no experience with dates whatsoever. Taiga thought for a while.

"You're the boy, so you have to decide!" She exclaimed, using it as an excuse to not have to think about it herself. Ryuuji sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

'I'm going to fail miserably,' he thought to himself.
"What if I end up doing something clichéd?" Ryuuji asked, laughing nervously.

Taiga snorted, crossing her arms.
"Humph! I don't care, it's up to you!"

Ryuuji closed his eyes and let his head hang.
'I'm doomed.'

…

Ryuuji sat down on the bench and put his hands into the pockets of his jacket, shivering slightly.
"We might be closing in on Spring, but I wouldn't exactly say it's gotten warm yet," Ryuuji mumbled to himself, shrugging his shoulders as he shivered.
He looked around him and up at the trees above him. They were Cherry Blossoms, but the sakura petals wouldn't bloom before fall, so the trees had a kind of beautiful loneliness over them. Ryuuji liked it, for some reason.

He heard a voice next to him, and he looked up at the source.
"I see you didn't exactly try to steer away from the 'cliché' part," Taiga said with a smirk. She was wearing her long, white coat, and she still had Ryuuji's red scarf around her neck, nuzzling her nose into it. She originally returned it to him on Valentine, but it somehow ended up with her again.

Ryuuji frowned and looked to the side, blushing a little.
"Shut up," he mumbled with a grumpy voice, something that made Taiga giggle a little.

"Hey, I'm as little experienced with this as you are," she said.
Ryuuji looked up at her, a little questioning.

"But you're so cute, so I wouldn't be surprised if you went out with a lot of guys in the past," he said, making Taiga lift a fist and peck his arm with it.

"H-hey, idiot!" She exclaimed with a flushed expression. Ryuuji winced and grabbed his arm, gritting his teeth in pain before laughing slightly. Taiga giggled a little herself after calming down. For some reason, it somehow felt as if they were at the beginning of a normal relationship, were they were only getting to know each other. They knew this was only 'date nerves', and that it wouldn't last for long, but for now, they both found a little fun and joy in the fact that they could act like a fresh couple.

Taiga reached out both her arms towards Ryuuji, extending them as far as she could, looking as if she strained herself to stretch them.
"So," she said with a high pitched, cute voice, "shall we go?"
Ryuuji smiled and stood up, standing next to Taiga. She wrapped herself around his left arm, nuzzling into him as they started walking down the park.

Taiga looked around with glee in her face, her eyes almost sparkling.
"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, looking at the trees that didn't even have blossoming flowers yet. Ryuuji smiled a little.

"You think so too, huh?" He mumbled, looking up at the trees. He didn't know why, but there was definitely something beautiful about them.
'I'm becoming a girl, aren't I?' Ryuuji thought to himself, laughing a little internally.
Taiga suddenly released Ryuuji's arm and ran a couple of meters ahead, doing a little spin before turning to Ryuuji, closing one eye while grinning at him.
Ryuuji widened his eyes a little, before smiling, looking almost sad.

"Yes, you do," he said with a loud and clear voice, making sure that Taiga would hear him. Her smile faltered a little, and she looked confused. She didn't say anything, she just gave him a questioning gaze.

Ryuuji smiled a little more, still looking right at her.
"That time before Christmas, remember?"

"So, I'll act nice to everyone, so that Santa will visit me for sure!" Taiga said with a happy voice, making Ryuuji sigh a little. She ran ahead of him and did a little spin, grinning back at him with one eye closed, putting her doughnut over her head.
"Hey, Ryuuji," she said with a joyful voice, "do I look like an angel?"

"You told me that you had to act like an angel to make sure that Santa visited you," Ryuuji said, "and then you asked me if you looked like one."
Taiga suddenly blushed extremely, trying to hide her cheeks within the scarf.
"You really do look like an angel."

Taiga suddenly rushed towards Ryuuji, holding both arms out in front of hear.
"Idiot!" She screamed with an embarrassed voice, pushing him backwards. He staggered back, but managed to stay on his feet.

"H-hey, what are you doing?" Ryuuji asked, his smile now gone. Taiga ran towards him again, wrapping her arms around his torso, burying her face into his chest.

"And Santa really did show up in the end, didn't he?" Taiga said with a suddenly gentle, yet embarrassed tone to her voice. Ryuuji smiled and put a hand on top of Taiga's head, ruffling her hair a little.

"Yeah, he did," he said with a careful voice, "and it was the beginning of something great." He looked up at the sky, once more taking in the view of the trees above him.

"I did my best to be rewarded for being nice towards others," Taiga said, holding onto Ryuuji a little tighter, "and you were there to reward me."
Ryuuji wrapped his arms around Taiga, and she moved her arms to around his neck, looking him in the eyes.
"And now, you have been blessed with an angels' love", she said with a smirk and stood on her toes, giving Ryuuji a kiss that meant more to them both than any kiss they'd ever shared.

"I'm glad."

At least this chapter was longer than the other ones.
I feel that I'm too little "social" with my readers, so I'll do something right now : First off, I want to thank RandomNumbers523156 for being the first to review my story, and still sticking with it until now.
Other than that, I've been asked of only a couple of small things, including character development and maybe some more drama (whilst others don't want the drama), so I'm still trying to figure out what to do about just that.
We'll see in due time, and I completely understand if you grow tired from this filler-like fanfic.
Until next time ~